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Got carried away and bought a bargain set of pikes earlier with a tapered steerer for my frame with a straight 1&1/8 steerer head tube...oops.
Has anyone successfully had the steerer swapped and not died in a fiery kitten harming sort of way? Or should I sell up and move on? Anyone with a press done it themselves or found a professional? Forks are circa 2017/18 Pike with black crown and stanchions.
Head tube is 34mm so no room for movement.
Thanks
Chris
RSF do it
Surely the hole in the fork crown will be bigger for the tapered steerer?
They can stick an adapter in to reduce the diameter.
As for the safety and durability of doing so, I'm not sure. How does the process those who offer stanchion and steerer swaps compare with the factory process?
You need a crown support you can press the steerer through to remove. ND Tuned sell reducers to fit 1 1/8 steerers in 1 1/2 crowns, its a straight press back in, just need a long extension for the press to clear the stanchions.
You can make your own tools. ND Tuned sell a kit. Blue Liquid Labs sell tools.
If its a one off it would probably be easiest/cheapest to send a bare CSU to a workshop that will supply and fit an adapter and steerer. Can send a complete fork as well, but you will be paying service labour to remove the lowers etc
If you have access to a press and can make a support it is perfectly doable with some common sense. Obviously you can quite easily destroy the fork steerer and crown with a hydraulic press.
Warranty will be out the window if that matters to you.
As far as I know RSF Suspension, Stirling Bike Doctor, Slick and Slide Suspension do it in the UK.
bought a bargain set of pikes earlier with a tapered steerer for my frame with a straight 1&1/8 steerer head tube…oops.
I did this too, bought some forks on clearance only to find that the frame that I thought had a tapered headtube actually didn't. I solved it by buying a new frame with a tapered headtube on clearance, then some used forks with straight steerer for the old frame. I ended up with two bikes, but only rode the newer one, so I figured I might as well treat the shiny new frame to some new wheels and XT groupset from a clearance sale, plus new finishing kit so it looked like a new bike. Then I gave the old bike away to a friend because I never rode it.
There are also some headsets that allow use of a tapered fork in a straight-steerer headtube. They raise the headtube slightly and thus slacken the bike overall, slightly. I had one in one of my bikes for awhile, never noticed any difference. I can't find a link now, but I'm sure a bit of googling will help.
Yes I know a couple of guys who put a Lyric on a Trek Remedy a good few years ago. Never stopped them being great riders and thrashing the bikes down the lake District's finest. They did it from new as an upgrade. Swinnertons in Stoke did the build. They'll probably have the bits you need.
Thanks for all of the advice. Much appreciated. I’ll be making some phone calls today!
There are also some headsets that allow use of a tapered fork in a straight-steerer headtube.
Well yes and no. You’re never going to get a tapered fork in a traditional external cup 1 1/8 straight headtube. You can get get a tapered fork in a straight headtube with 44 mm zerostack internal bearings by using an external bottom headset cup.
As long as the straight steerer headtube has a big enough diameter, Hope do a lower headset race for it. The difference is it is an external cup so as stated above, the front will be raised a tiny bit but otherwise, its all fine. No death, hospital food, kittens faces etc etc.
Looking forward to *What Hope headset for...* as your next post....
EDIT ^ all useless, not what the OP asked for but maybe interesting for someone...
Sadly it’s a 34mm diameter head tube so no magical bottom cups allowed. It’s new steerer or new forks!
A complete CSU might be an option.